It's been over a week now since I watched my first Spring Training game and also about that long since I've watched any Spring Training games. Between illness, distractions, and keeping busy, I've managed to quell the anticipation a bit as April 5 draws nearer and nearer.
The one thing that I took away from the two games that I've watched so far is that Ryan Dempster looks fresh, slimmer, and about ten years younger. Whether that translates into a bounce-back year in the latter years of his career or not will be played out shortly, but it is certainly a good start, a fine sign that he has put in even more time than he usually does to prepare for the spring-summer-fall grind.
Another thing that I've gleaned from articles was that Jeff Samardzija may have finally put everything together and will at least begin the year as a starter, possibly the third starter behind Garza and Dempster.
A third thing I've gleaned from often glib and uninformative sports journalism is that Garza has not looked that great. But he had a poor spring last year and turned in a solid season that only the Cubs' relief pitchers tried to (and often did) ruin. If you are an established veteran who has a guaranteed roster spot, the spring is a time for experimentation, working on one or two specific things, and (especially for a pitcher) not showing the opposing teams everything that is in your bag of tricks. This really is why I don't put much effort into following Spring Training. Come October, no one cares what you did in March.
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